Crime & Safety
Hopkins Police Arrest Car Theft Suspect
Police say Tou Leng Yang was driving a stolen Honda coupe when he was arrested and that the car's ignition had been damaged.
A St. Paul man has been charged with car theft after Hopkins police stopped him driving a car that had been reported stolen a day earlier.
Tou Leng Yang, 28, is charged with two felony counts of car theft and one count of receiving stolen property, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
According to the criminal complaint, signed by Hopkins Police Officer Renee Meuwissen, a Hopkins officer on patrol saw a black 1997 Honda coupe cross the center line on Excelsior Boulevard just after 2 a.m. Sept. 19.
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The officer ran the Honda’s license plate number and learned that it had been reported stolen Sept. 18.
The officer followed the Honda, and the driver, later identified as Yang, pulled up in front of The Depot Coffee House. He got out of the car and began to walk away, and the officer arrested him.
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A search of the Honda found that the car’s ignition on the steering column had been peeled back, causing damage to the ignition, according to the complaint. Yang also had two filed-down keys in his possession, one of a Honda and one for a Toyota, the complaint charges.
The keys were consistent with those used to start and steal cars, the complaint says.
Yang admitted to police after his arrest that he knew the car was stolen, according to the complaint.
He was released from custody without bond. No information was available on his upcoming court appearances.
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